U.S. Court Charges Osama’s Son-in-Law With Terrorism Conspiracy

A top al-Qaeda member and son-in-law of Osama bin Laden was charged on Thursday with conspiring to kill Americans in his position as bin Laden’s spokesman who heralded the multi-attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.

Officials said Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a/k/a “Suleiman Abu Gayth,” who was born in Kuwait and was bin Laden’s propagandist, was captured in Jordan over the last week. He will appear Friday in U.S. federal court in New York, according to a Justice Department statement and indictment outlining the accusations against Abu Ghaith.

Efforts by Law Enforcement Examiner to learn why Abu Gayth is being held by civilian authorities instead of being detained at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military detention met with negative results.

However, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said, “Al-Qaeda leaders captured on the battlefield should not be brought to the United States to stand trial. We should treat enemy combatants like the enemy –- the U.S. court system is not the appropriate venue. The President needs to send any captured al-Qaeda members to Guantanamo.”